


A house is not a home; a team can be family

by MisconductandMimosas



Series: A house is not a home [3]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, You Can Play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 22:42:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6539470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisconductandMimosas/pseuds/MisconductandMimosas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Between the team and PR, everyone has been trying to figure something out for weeks- a solution that would get Kent out of the closet and comfortable without backlash or being too showy, which is hard because- well- Vegas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A house is not a home; a team can be family

It’s never a good sign when PR emails him mid-week. They have his phone number- they can text him if the children’s hospital thing is going to be cancelled. Kent’s not nervous, he’s not, but he also might definitely be nervous.

Kent opens the attachment- it’s weird that it’s an attachment and not uploaded to YouTube somewhere. The file name is Option1.mp4 and once it starts playing, he realizes why it’s currently internal Aces property and not trusted to the cloud just yet.

The video player opens automatically and his two alternates are standing back-to-back on center ice. They’re both wearing his jersey though- that much is obvious by the C pressed against the press where A’s normally rest. Jean-Pierre bumps his shoulder against Richie, who retaliates with flicking his teammate’s ear. They’re children. Kent Parson’s Stanley Cup-winning alternates are actual children and he loves them.

“We respect our captain.”

Oh no.

Kent hits the spacebar to pause the video and wishes he was sitting at a desk so he could push away from his laptop. Kit rolls over, back paws hitting his thighs. Christ, he had missed her.

“Yeah– can you believe this shit?” Kent asks her, media smile on his face even though he’s in his own bedroom, because if he doesn’t keep it there, he’s just going to lose it.

The thing is- if he asks, PR won’t release it. He’s grown close with the Aces team of public relations experts ever since his slow-like-molasses coming out to the team. They see what he goes through on a daily basis with reporters latching on to the rumors but- so does his team. More than that, his team hears what is said on the ice and with that in mind, Kent knows this video was a joint venture. Between the team and PR, everyone has been trying to figure something out for weeks- a solution that would get Kent out of the closet and comfortable without backlash or being too showy, which is hard because- well- Vegas.

Kent cycles through the Aces roster in his mind before he hits the space bar again- trying to guess who would pop up next- who has dealt with it just as much as Kent - to prepare himself.

If he really thinks about it, he knows a precise moment on the ice that would have made Monte, his right winger, advocate for this. Kent eyes the paused screen. His laptop has dimmed just slightly due to the lack of movement from the mouse. He would bet his last year’s Art Ross bonus that Monte was going to show up in the next frame.

He keeps one hand on Kit’s exposed belly, which is a trust level it took both of them time to work up to, and the other hand hits the space bar.

Monte fades in on the screen and Kent’s chest eases a little for being right- it’s a fucked-up sort of comfort he gets from correctly predicting even something so mundane.

“If you can shoot, you can shoot,” The Monte on the screen tells him.

Monte got a ten minute misconduct for instigating a wildly physical fight after another winger from the Wheels consistently felt the need to find Kent and call him a faggot for four consecutive shifts.

The next person comes into focus with their back turned to camera. Kent squints but the hair looks tinged red. They don’t have any gingers on the team- oh. Kent watches without breathing as Walt, the Aces equipment manager tells him:

“If you can skate, you can skate.”

Philippe dominates the next frame. He’s a young rookie- almost too young and too good for a team who had last picks in the draft for the past five years as a direct result of, you know, winning the Stanley Cup three times. Kent remembers being secretly pleased that Philippe and John, their other rookie, had both made the cut so they could manage through their first year together.

Philippe, who vomited in between periods during his first ever NHL game, leans on his stick and smirks at the camera. Kent can’t remember seeing his rookie that confident.

“If our captain can play, you can play.”

Kit bunts her head against his knee, not so much a warning but just as a memo that she’s about to head into his lap. He lets her, keeping his eyes on the screen so he doesn’t miss a thing.

The screen transitions again and this time, his whole team is lined up, dressed in their game gear. Their home jerseys are lit up against a black back drop. His A’s are flanked by their rookies and beyond that, wingers, centers, and team employees in Parson shirseys, with the C plastered on the front of each one.

“This is a team sport-”

“And each team has a captain.”

“If our captain can play-”

“And win four Art Ross trophies-”

“ _And_ lift three cups with us-”

In unison, Richie and Jean-Pierre end it with their sticks pointing directly at the camera. “If our captain can play, then you can play.”

Kent leans forward, folding himself in half so his face is right up against Kit’s soft stomach.

He takes a deep breath.

He _can_ play.

——

_-3 days, 14 million views, & a single Game 2 shutout later-_

“Parson- your team has been dominating the headlines with their You Can Play Project video. Can you tell us-”

“We also made the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year but no- I’m sure we’re not in the headlines for that,” Kent snorts. He lets his voice soften just a bit but he’s still smirking when he answers. “And I can’t tell you anything about it cause those beauties didn’t tell me they were going to make one.”

“So you were just as surprised?”

“No, I wasn’t surprised- not by their support. I’ve always had their support.”

——

[Retweeted by @KVParson90]  
@NHLLVAces: If our #YouCanPlay video gets retweeted 15K times, we’ll release the outtakes!

@PhilippeGH: @NHLLVAces @KVParson90 s'il te plait NO, capitaine!


End file.
